Jack Kimble
| Jack Kimble | |
|---|---|
 The profile picture used by @RepJackKimble | |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | U.S. representative for California's 54th congressional district |
| Affiliation | Republican |
Jack Kimble, also known by his Twitter username @RepJackKimble, is a fictional and satirical character active on the social media websites Twitter and Bluesky. Presented as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, his character has also been used as a novelty candidate. Several of the account's posts have gone viral and mistakenly thought to have been posted by a legitimate American politician.
Description
[edit]Created in 2009 by a Chicago educator, Kimble is presented as a Republican congressman from California's fictional 54th congressional district (California currently has 52 congressional districts, and has never had more than 53).[1] In the account's early years, corporate logos were placed beside the account.[2] A book, Detective Jesus #1: Thou Shalt Not Kill, was published under the Kimble alias.[1][3]
In his Twitter bio, Kimble is called a "co-sponsor of Poe's Law", which is an adage about how parody is perceived as sincerity when without a clear intent.[1] Kimble was a novelty candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election,[4] running on the promotion of corn dogs over funnel cake. @RepJackKimble's tweets generally satirize the Republican Party.[5]
Notable activity
[edit]In 2010, a HuffPost article included a Kimble tweet on an article regarding the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, with Kimble being assumed as a real congressman.[2] Also in 2010, Kimble's account tweeted that the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan were costless to taxpayers. Journalist Jonathan Capehart cited the account in an opinion piece for The Washington Post, believing Kimble to be a real congressman.[6][7][8][5] That year, The Christian Science Monitor deemed the account a competitor for "best candidate-for-fun in the 2010 election landscape," and compared its tweets to the persona of Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.[5] In 2013, Kimble tweeted about same-sex marriage laws, criticizing them by asking "what's to stop them from requiring us to be gay?" Political advisor Ben LaBolt retweeted it.[9] In 2019, Kimble tweeted a video of a young Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York congresswoman, dancing in a reenactment of a scene from The Breakfast Club.[10]
In June 2024, Kimble tweeted that the guilty verdict of the prosecution of Donald Trump in New York was "unfair".[4] Prior to the 2024 United States vice presidential debate, Kimble tweeted that JD Vance "destroyed" Tim Walz in the debate. The tweet was posted about 12 hours before the debate began.[11][12] In 2025, Kimble tweeted saying he did not know the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to be about the budget. In a reply, he said "my bad" to someone telling him to read bills prior to voting. It satirized the fact that multiple Republican congress members did not read the full bill.[1] Also that year, a suggestion by Kimble to sell American beef to India rather than China spread across Chinese social media platforms.[13]
In July 2026, amid reports of Mitch McConnell's ongoing hospitalization following a medical emergency in June, Kimble posted a tweet claiming he had spoken with the senator for nearly 45 minutes. The post described McConnell as "sharp" and a "great listener" who "let me do all of the talking" followed by silent prayer and a staring contest that McConnell won.[14] The tweet was mistakenly aired on CNN This Morning alongside statements from actual Republican politicians who claimed to have spoken to McConnell;[15] the show apologised the following day.[16]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Rascouët-Paz, Anna (June 7, 2025). "Rep. Jack Kimble, who said he didn't know Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' was a real budget, is a satirical character". Snopes. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- 1 2 "Correction: Rep. Jack Kimble Isn't Among 14th Amendment Repealers". TechPresident. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ "Fact Check: Satirical California 'Rep. Jack Kimble' Post About Other Countries Considering Invading U.S. Over Corrupt President Is NOT Real". Yahoo News. January 4, 2026. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
- 1 2 "Fact Check: Fictional congressman's X post about Trump verdict taken seriously". Reuters. June 6, 2024. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Stephen Colbert, meet the heir to your crown as a comedic 'candidate'". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ Capehart, Jonathan (September 6, 2010). "Obama, deficits and 'the ditch'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
- ↑ "Jonathan Capehart Very Upset With Fake Congressman". New York. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ "Washington Post Duped by Fake Congressman". PR Watch. September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ Schwarz, Hunter (March 26, 2013). "This Anti-Gay Tweet That Went Viral Is Actually Fake". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Ocasio-Cortez dancing video: Twitter troll shares old video of congresswoman young, happy and dancing in a recreation of scene from The Breakfast Club - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. January 4, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ Frank, BrieAnna J. "Did GOP congressman accidentally slam Walz before debate? No, that's satire | Fact check". USA TODAY. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ O'Rourke, Ciara. "Premature GOP response to VP debate is satire". @politifact. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ "Did a US politician suggest selling all American beef to India instead of China?". Radio Free Asia. April 22, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
- ↑ "Questions over McConnell's health continue three weeks after medical emergency". Lead Stories. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
- ↑ Rumpf, Sarah (July 8, 2026). "CNN Duped By Phony GOP Congressman Claiming to Have Spoken to Mitch McConnell". Mediaite. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ Durante, Tom (July 9, 2026). "CNN Apologizes For Using Fake Congressman's Quote On Mitch McConnell's Health: 'Obviously We Should Not Have Done That'". Mediaite. Retrieved July 10, 2026.